A short interview with Beggars Opera. Ricky Gardiner answered the questions.
Please note there is an excellent interview with Beggars Opera and Virginia Scott at http://www.beggarsopera.co.uk/node/319 which may be of great interest to this community too. All answers from Ricky Gardiner in Red Italic.

Where in was Beggars Opera formed and by whom ? Why did youchoose that name ?

Beggars Opera were formed in Glasgow 1969 by Ricky Gardiner.
The Beggars Opera name was chosen by randomly sticking a pin on a page from a dictionary.What was your musical visions/ideas ?Playing music we liked.Please tell me more about the early years. Did you tour or play any gigs at that time ? Was there a Scottish scene at that time ? We very quickly became popular after the residency at the Burns Howff, Glasgow thanks to the support of John Waterson then proprietor.
We played extensively in Scotland England and Germany as well as Festivals in Europe. See the incomplete time line at the end of the interview for a list of some of the gigs.
Yes there was Scottish scene at the time, but we were the only Prog classical Rock band.How did you get your first record deal ? How is and was the income andbusiness side of Beggars Opera back in those days ? We were offered a deal with Vertigo Records by Ken Mailphant of Vertigo Records.
Enigma.Your good reputation among us progheads was cemented with your first,and let me add, excellent three albums Act One, Waters Of Change andPathfinder. Please tell us more about these albums. These albums were produced at a time of great musical creativity.
A gelling of musical talent.You also released some singles during your career. Please tell us moreabout these singles. I like Sarabande the best.Your first three albums has often been compared with ELP (Emerson, LakeThe Nice. What do you think about this “label” ? That would be because of the keyboard influence in the music of the day.
Beggars Opera had two qualified keyboardists in Alan Park and Virginia Scott.
Therefore the comparison inevitable.Beggars Opera changed style from Get Your Dog Off Me and on thefollowing albums. Why did you change style ? Change in personel.Please tell us more about the five albums from Get Your Dog Off Me toFinal Chapter (I meant The Final Curtain...tf).

Get your Dog off me is often not rated as it should. It is a beautifully produced album and the sound engineer Roger Wake did a fantastic job.
Tracks such as Classical Gas and Requiem are memorable.
Final Chapter does not exist ... I think you mean Lifeline ? (Sorry, I meant The Final Curtain, an album Ricky Gardiner did not participate on. A note to myself: Don't do both interviews and sorting out a server for the local council at the same time. Overlaps of the two tasks is the end result. Sorry !!!)Sagittary and Beggars Can't Be Chooser were low budget albums for Jupiter records Germany.
Pete Scott ( ex Savoy Brown) who sang with us had also toured in 1973.
He is an amazing singer and there were 5 encores every night .
(To hear him Beggars Opera with Pete Scott you need to get hold of the Cardano bootleg.)Eleven years after Final Chapter, Beggars Opera made a return in 2007with Close to My Heart and the 2009 album Touching the Edge. Please tellus what happened, why you returned and give us a presentation of these twoalbums and the concept of the Touching the Edge album and the Auschwitzsingle. The Virginia Scott interview http://www.beggarsopera.co.uk/node/319 gives you a bit of background. Ricky Gardiner/ Virginia Scott had material and wanted to release it.
Auschwitz is a very special track to us.Musicwise; how would you describe these two albums ? They are Art Rock with a touch of Prog.
The new one we are currently working on called Electro Sensitive is pure Prog.You released your first album almost forty years ago and are stillalive to this day. Please tell us more about what you did during theseforty years. See Virginia Scott interview at http://www.beggarsopera.co.uk/node/319You have had some line up changes during these forty years. Please tell us more about them.People move on and contracts expire :-)

Have you had a stable fanbase during all these years ? There is arenaissance of progressive rock these days. There is even a new Britishmagazine sold in WH Smith and the supermarkets in Scotland dedicated toprogressive rock. Have you noticed a new interest in Beggars Opera ? Our fans love our early music .
So do we.
Luckily some of them like our new music also :-)
Prog is indeed alive and well.I understand most of your business, if not all of it, is being takencare of through your own webpage www.beggarsopera.co.uk . Are youplanning to re-release the rest of your albums, in particular the firstthree classic albums, through your own business or how is the situationregarding the accessibility/distribution of your back-catalogue ? How doyou take care of the business side of the band ? Do you have any liverecordings locked away in your vaults ? Repertoire Records Germany now release all of the early albums.
No live recordings other than the bootlegs are available as far as I know.
Beggars Opera website curates the Beggars Opera story and whenever new material is released it may well emerge there and on I tunes.
Who can say :-)Is Beggars Opera now a project or a band able to do gigs, barmitzvah's, funerals, weddings etc etc ? No.What is the plans for Beggars Opera this year and in the future ? Working on the music we like.16. Anything you want to add to this interview ? Thanks to all the fans :-)A big thank you to Ricky Gardiner & Virginia Scott. A much more comprehensive Beggars Opera interview can be found at http://www.beggarsopera.co.uk/node/319

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